We continue to learn from the Apostle Peter with his second letter to Christians. Please open your Bibles to 2 Peter Chapter 3…
We are reminded at the beginning of 2 Peter 3 that God’s Word is true and His timing is always right. Read along with me v7-18 of 2 Peter 3…..
We will focus on v7-13 today and finish 2 Peter next week and celebrate Communion.
We noted last week from v5 that by God’s Word, the heavens and earth were created. Think about our God for a moment; He spoke and the sun, the stars, and the entire universe was created! Does God still speak today? God speaks today through the Bible; If God can create the entire universe by just saying a word, the truths from the Bible should be easy for us to accept!
Now in verses 7 and 10, we note that by the same word from God, the heavens and the earth will be destroyed by fire! And why would God destroy what He created?
v7: for judgment of ungodly men.
But let us not forget the opposite of what needs to happen! God has to destroy the present heavens and earth, so that there can be v13: for a new heaven and a new earth, the home for Believers of Christ!
And so, when will this judgment day happen? This of course, as we discussed last week, is one of the major topics in 2 Peter 3. Many Christians even 2000 years ago were impatient; they could not wait for God’s timing; and so God states in v8-9 that God’s timing is always perfect! And so, what is the answer to the question “When is God’s judgment of the ungodly going happen??”
God’s judgment of the world will happen when He decides it will happen!
God’s timing is always right and in v9: God gives reasons for the timing!
Look again at v9 with me….
Does God pick a time to judge just because He is a judging God and has all the right to judge the ungodly? Based on v9, why does God wait for the right timing??
God’s Judgment Day will happen after He has given every person in the world an opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ!
Now, we may not know the exact date of when God will fully judge the world, but God describes the judgment of the ungodly:
v10a: day of the Lord (judgment time) will come like a thief
What are significant things about a thief showing up??
A thief,
- can come without notice!
Jesus Himself even said that only God the Father knows the day and hour when the day of the Lord happens!
A thief,
- will take something – Believers will be stolen from this world!
After Jesus comes like a thief, everyone will know that Christians are taken away mysteriously but no one will know when it will happen!
Now, the second part of v10 states the heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
And the second part of v12 states, that day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.
v10b, 12b: judgment will be catastrophic (like an atomic bomb blasting the earth and sky)
Can you picture an atomic blast on a city? Now picture the whole earth blowing up with intense fire and heat!
Will Christians experience this catastrophic judgment?
If we believe that Jesus will come like a thief and steal away the Believers, then Christians will already be in heaven when judgment comes.
Let us also note the “rapture”; Christians being caught up to the sky with Jesus Christ. Turn briefly to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18….
Now, there are differing beliefs amongst Christians of when the “rapture” will happen; but here’s what we need to note for sure: Jesus Christ will take up to heaven all His Believers, but He will come like a thief and judge the ungodly! Sadly, many Christians today argue about when Jesus will return to earth and are poor testimony for Jesus Christ. As alluded to in this passage in 2 Peter 3, instead of arguing about dates and times, Christians are to focus on actually living the Christian life!
There is no need to argue of when Jesus will come back to earth! All we need to know is Jesus Christ will return to earth to judge the living and the dead and know how we are to live while we wait!
Jesus, our Lord and Savior, will show up soon, unexpectedly; how then shall we live?
Read again with me 2 Peter 3:11-12…..
What kind of people are Christians ought to be as they wait for Jesus Christ?
v11b: live holy and godly lives
other English translations of this v11 states, to have holy conversation, holy conduct, and godliness!
Holy in this verse means be set apart by (or for) God and be sacred. Holy is everything God approves! Are our conversations and conduct God approved?
Godliness in this verse means towards God. Godliness is to pursue the complete image of God which we have blurred with our sins. As Christians, we are to go back towards the image we were created to be, not towards sin.
Are our lives always toward God?
Live holy and godly lives!
Let us focus everyday on God approved conversations and conduct and lives toward God! Focus on God approved conversations and conduct! Focus on a life towards God not towards sin!
And in v12a: Christians are to look forward to the day of God
Everyday, anticipate the return of Jesus Christ!
Why is it important to look forward to the day of God, the day of judgment, the return of Jesus Christ??
First of all, we all struggle with living holy and godly lives, don’t we?
When Jesus returns to earth:
- The struggle with the spiritual battle (to live holy and godly lives) will be over!
- To finally see face to face our Savior Creator Jesus Christ!
- To be perfected and be in God’s perfect place forever!
And knowing one day everything will be perfect,
- Should motivate us to live for God!
And did you notice the second part of the beginning of v12?
v12b: speed the coming of Christ’s return!
What does this mean? Many Christians interpret this to mean that we can make the return of Jesus Christ to earth sooner. A verse that may go along with this is Matthew 24:14, And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
All Christians are certainly called to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ! The command from our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ is simple: All Christians are to go and make disciples of all nations! This is our motto as a church and we must constantly pursue it!
But what did we just learn from v8-9 of 2 Peter 3? God’s timing is always perfect and not dependent on man’s clock! So, if this is true, we really cannot say that any of our doings can change God’s clock.
And so, what does it mean to speed the coming of Christ’s return? Again, we are reading the New International Version of the Bible; a good, easy to read translation from the original New Testament Greek. And so, when questions come up from the NIV, first, try to understand it in context, as we did with v8-9, then look at other English translations or the actual Greek words.
Other English translations of this verse instead of to speed is to hasten, to urge on, to desire earnestly. And so to speed Christ’s coming is to desire earnestly for it to happen. The apostle John gives a similar attitude in Revelation 22:20 (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
And doesn’t it make sense, that if we desire earnestly the return of Jesus Christ, we need to share the Good News of Jesus Christ to everyone we meet?
And so in summary, let us not argue about dates and times of God’s judgment. But because we know for sure it will happen and our Lord God Jesus Christ can show up at any moment, let us commit to daily living for God with our conversations and actions, anticipate Christ’s return to earth, and eagerly desire His return!
